Former Strictly star Katya Virshilas shares her pregnancy joy

When former Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Virshilas was on tour with the stage musical Puttin’ on the Ritz this autumn, she discreetly asked her co-star and former Strictly dancer Jared Murillo to be “extra careful” during the lifts. Katya had just found that she was pregnant.

Revealing the news to HELLO! weeks later, the 32-year-old said: “I can’t hide it any more – my bump is quite big!”

Read the full interview in this week’s HELLO! magazine, on sale now in all good newsagents and available to download on iPad, android, kindle fire and more formats.

Katya and her husband Klaus Kongsdal, a Danish ballroom dancer and coach, are expecting their bundle of joy in May. With two dancers for parents, the little boy or girl will be tapping their booties in no time.

“They will be surrounded by dance competitions and dance shows,” said Klaus. “I think dancing helps you learn a lot, including how to respect women.”

Katya won’t be dancing again until after the birth of her child; the Lithuania-born beauty is cautious following a miscarriage in 2014. She had discovered she was pregnant last November and booked her first scan for five weeks later on Klaus’s 40th birthday.

“I was elated,” said Katya. “But the doctor looked at the scan and just went very quiet. He then told us there wasn’t a heartbeat.”

Two hours later she had to undergo an operation to remove the undeveloped egg.

“I had a party planned for Klaus’ birthday and I didn’t want to cancel so I was texting my friends from the hospital bed asking them to pick up the cake,” said Katya.

“I was out of the hospital by 6pm and sitting down for dinner by 8pm. I was completely glassy-eyed. It wasn’t until the next morning when everything hit me. I was in hysterics.”

Katya’s pregnancy is going well and she is having scans every five to ten days for reassurance. “We have enough scans for a photo album,” said Klaus.